by Sue Grafton
Part of Kinsey Millhone, book 8
First published 1997
Private investigator Kinsey Millhone can't fathom why anyone would murder her friend and colleague Parnell Perkins in the California Fidelity Insurance parking lot. The mild-mannered man seemed to have no enemies. Kinsey finds only one suspicious lead in Parnell's files: Bibianna Diaz, a woman who appears to be running elaborate insurance fraud schemes. Kinsey adopts a false identity to get close to Bibianna and expose her criminal activities. The plan backfires spectacularly when both women end up behind bars. Their troubles multiply when they're released and encounter Raymond Maldonado, Bibianna's volatile ex-fiancé who's been waiting for them. Kinsey quickly realizes that Raymond orchestrates a vast network of fraudulent insurance claims, with Bibianna as just one of his operatives. But did this dangerous man also kill Parnell? Kinsey must navigate the treacherous world of organized crime while staying alive long enough to uncover the truth about her friend's death.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, detective
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, false-identity
Setting: California, California Fidelity Insurance
305 pages · Paperback · Ballantine Books